On Feb 20, 2:55*pm, Paul Corfield wrote:
[Blackfriars LU and NR]

This is beginning to sound awfully like the mess that was created at
Southwark LU / Waterloo East when South Eastern stuck a new gateline
in. *There is a special Oyster charge levied to allow people to walk
through Southwark to reach the street. *The reverse situation applies
here with the exit route via FCC's station although I guess you can
argue that people should walk across the road bridge and enter at the
right ticket hall rather than use FCC's platforms as a walking route.

Sorry Paul but that isn't quite right w.r.t. the situation at
Southwark.

When using Oyster PAYG, you now automatically get free passage through
Southwark Tube station - i.e. from the Waterloo East entrance to the
main Southwark Tube station entrance (on the corner of The Cut and
Blackfriars Rd) or vice versa.

This applies quite independently of any Oyster PAYG journey on NR you
may have just made - i.e. if getting off a Southeastern train at
Waterloo East - or any Oyster PAYG journey on NR you might be about to
make - i.e. if about to get on a Southeastern train at Waterloo East.

Indeed, you needn't make any Oyster PAYG journey on NR to or from
Waterloo East whatsoever to benefit from this - i.e. if you have a
paper ticket for a journey to/from Waterloo East, you can use your
Oyster card to get from Waterloo East to the main Southwark Tube
entrance or vice versa. You can also do this with an Oyster card with
zero (GBP0.00) credit on it.

And yes, I have tested it on a number of occasions...

In other words, there's no OSI required as part of the mix to use an
Oyster card to walk through Southwark Tube station. At Blackfriars
however, it's different as one either needs to have just made a Tube
journey, or needs to be about to make one, in order to be able to walk
through the Thameslink station and across the bridge for free.